336 



RUSSIA IN EUROPE. 



not one is so li:ippily situat3d as tlie Neva delta, lying as it does nearest to the 

 o-reat centres of population, which, at least in summer, can be supplied with the 

 products of the West more rapidly from this place than from any other seaport. 

 The work of Peter the Great harmonized with the geographical conditions of the 

 land, and it has accordingly survived. The fortified island of Kronstadt com- 

 pletely guards the approach from the west, thus enabling the capital to expand 

 and peacefully develop its trade and industries. 



The fifth city in Europe for its population, it covers an area of over 40 square 

 miles, including the river surface, but excluding the industrial suburbs and the 



Fig. 178. — Continuous Growth of St. Petersburg. 



The Fortifications traced on this Plan belong to the Old Town. 



Scale 1 : 135,000. 



1705 



1736 1865 



_^_^ 2 Miles. 



villas stretching along the side valleys of the Neva. It spreads out like a fun 

 along the branches of the delta, embracing six large and numerous small islands, 

 limited southwards by the Fontanka Canal, while on the mainland the outlying 

 districts are continually expanding north and south. The islet where the founder 

 sank its first piles still bears officially the name of the Petersburg quarter, 

 and here stand the citadel and State prison of " SS. Peter and Paul," with the 

 church in which the Czars are buried. But the true centre now lies south of that 

 island on the left bank of the Neva, which is crowded with public buildings, 



